April 25, 2024

• 

[THE INVESTOR] Korean stocks ended lower on May 3 as foreign and institutional investors offloaded construction stocks to engage in profit-taking. The won fell against the US dollar.

The benchmark KOSPI fell 18.36 points, or 0.73 percent, to 2,487.25.

Foreign investors sold a net 280.8 billion won (US$261 million) worth of stocks and institutions offloaded stocks valued at 34.1 billion won, weighing on the main index.

Large-cap stocks saw mixed trade.

Celltrion, a major biotech firm, was up 1.16 percent to 262,000 won, and LG Chem, a major chemicals and battery firm, rose 1.18 percent to 343,000 won.

Among decliners, Korea’s No. 2 chipmaker, SK hynix, lost 0.24 percent to 82,900 won, and leading steelmaker POSCO lost 3.22 percent to 360,500 won.

The local currency closed at 1,076.30 won against the US dollar, down 0.20 won from the previous session’s close.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)